A
future Field Marshal in Hitler's Wehrmacht, Wilhelm
was born in central Bavaria to Major Adolf Leeb and his spouse Katharina.
After joining the Bavarian Army in 1895 and later earning promotion to
lieutenant, Leeb was assigned to the German East Asian Corps under Field
Marshal Alfred Graf von Waldersee and saw action during the Boxer
Rebellion.

During the Great War, von
Leeb served on the general staffs of the I. Bavarian Army Corps and the
11. Bavarian Infantry Division. He was awarded the Max-Joseph Order for
his actions during the Battle at Gorlice-Tarnow, an award which
additionally afforded him the title of "Ritter von". The last
two years of the War were spent serving on the Western Front with Crown
Prince Rupprecht's general staff.

In the years following the War, Ritter von Leeb
remained in the Reichswehr and was involved in
quelling the Nazis during the so-called Beer Hall Putsch. When
Hitler later took power, he had a falling-out with von Leeb due to the
General's anti-Nazi views and religion and temporarily forced him into
retirement. He eventually commanded Army Group C during the Battle of
France and was promoted to Field Marshal on 19 July 1940. During Operation
Barbarossa, von Leeb was in command of Army Group North, which
advanced over 900 km into the Soviet Union and stopped just short of St.
Petersburg. After the War, General von Leeb was sentenced to three years
in prison but got off with time served. He spent his final years living
with his wife Maria Schott in Füssen
(near Schloß
Hohenschwangau). They had three children, one of whom was killed in
action during the Second World War. Von Leeb died in Füssen
on 29 April 1956.